Counting The Snowflakes
by IceSkatingElsa
Summary: Elsa stared out the window, kissing the snowflakes goodbye. She attempted to think of the positives, but found none. Elsa glanced at Rapunzel and Anna, chirping away excitedly about different things. School, friends, things Elsa couldn't catch. Maybe Rapunzel can be the sister Anna deserves.
1. Chapter 1

Elsa Arendelle silently watched the snowflakes fall through the window, attempting to ignore the blabbering girls occupying the table next over. Elsa fixated herself on the window beside her, willing her thoughts to drift anywhere, _anywhere _but _there, _but to no avail. Elsa began to wonder what life would be like without her.

She glanced to her little sister, Anna, across the cafeteria. She was hugging her friends and saying goodbyes, tears apparent in all of their eyes.

It had been only two weeks since their parents had passed away, a result of a cruise ship incident. Now the girls were being forced to transfer from their current home in Washington, to live with their aunt and uncle in California.

Its not like Elsa was too upset about the aspect of moving, unlike her sister. It wasn't like Elsa had friends here anyways.

Elsa was pulled out of her thoughts by a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see one of Anna's friends, Toothiana. The petite girl plopped down next to Elsa, her multicolored hair bouncing around her shoulders.

"Are you alright? You looked kinda..." The small girl looked like she was trying to find the right word. "...lonely."

Elsa stared wide-eyed at Toothiana. Her eyes were sincere, and sympathetic. Yes, Elsa wanted to say so much, like how she wanted to jump off of a bridge or fall asleep and never wake up.

But then, the words of her father echoed in her mind. _"Conceal it, don't feel it. Don't let it show." _He had told her gently yet sternly.

"I'm fine. Just tired is all." Elsa smiled, but it wasn't genuine.

Toothiana didn't buy it one bit. Her mouth opened, but was interrupted by the raspy voice of Principle Wessleton.

"Miss Elsa, your aunt and uncle are here." Elsa sighed and stood up, still not out of her depressed thoughts. She walked out the door, refusing to look back as she exited the cafeteria and entered the empty and quiet hallway. She could faintly hear Anna trailing behind her. Anna speed walked until she met Elsa's pace.

"So...W-what do you think the weather will be like?" Anna stared hopefully at her sister, hoping she would speak.

"I don't know, hot. It's California, Anna." Elsa said tiredly.

"Oh. Right." Anna sighed, remembering they were leaving Washington. But Anna loved summer, so she didn't care much. She figured Elsa would, considering how much Elsa loved winter. The awkward silence ended when they turned to the end of the hallway, towards the main entrance.

"Look at you two! All big!" The girls' aunt, Primrose, fawned over them, while the sisters stood, unsure of what to do. Her deep green eyes shone with excitement. "I haven't seen you two since you were _this tall_!" Primrose took her hand and showed the average height of a toddler. Their uncle, Thomas, smiled at them warmly.

Rapunzel, their cousin, waved at them excitedly. "Your luggage is in the car." She was Anna's age, and was beautiful to say the least. She had the same brown hair as her mother, only it was pixie cut, framing her face. Her denim shorts looked foreign in the late winter weather of Washington. This only reminded Elsa more of where they would be going.

"Alrighty then," Thomas spoke up. "We've got a long drive ahead of us, we should get going." Anna and Elsa took a glance at each other, before following them out the door.

Saying the van was large would be an understatement. It had a grand total of three rows of seats, yet Primrose had insisted they all sit in the same row, with Rapunzel in the middle. Elsa preferred to stay quiet during the drive, but Rapunzel and Anna wear the same age and had a lot in common. They almost instantly became best friends.

Elsa stared out the window, kissing the snowflakes goodbye. She attempted to think of the positives, but found none. Elsa glanced at Rapunzel and Anna, chirping away excitedly about different things. School, friends, things Elsa couldn't catch. Maybe Rapunzel can be the sister Anna deserves.

Ever since the day Elsa was born, she was a burden. She had been born premature, and had had many health problems as a result. Later in her life, the doctors had thought she was... different. Elsa had serious schizophrenia. She saw things, heard things. She remembers seeing snow come out of her hands, and somehow hurting her sister. After that, her parents didn't want her around Anna, but loved her just the same. Over the years, Elsa's daily schizophrenia calmed down tremendously, but only made her annual episodes nearly ten times worse. Whenever Elsa got very stressed or strained emotionally, she would have very long episodes, opting her to stay alone, and choose not to feel anything. Anna knew something was always off, always heard doctors say different things, how her parents had said that Elsa 'Needed to go away for a bit.', and so on. Anna never truly understood the severity of it, and still dosen't.

After hours of driving and a few rest stops, they arrived. Anna and Rapunzel jumped out immediately, Rapunzel blabbering on about things Elsa couldn't catch. Elsa stared at the large house. It was completely stone, and no doubt beautiful, but very different from their old wooden house back home. Elsa grabbed her snowflake print luggage from the trunk and headed up the driveway. Elsa's sweater suddenly felt very hot and heavy in the California evening air.

Their uncle was busy talking on his phone to some business executive, while Primrose talked excitedly about the house, the weather, the neighbors, just about everything.

'Wow, like mother like daughter.' Elsa thought. When Elsa entered the house, she marveled at the interior design. Elsa had always had a deep appreciation for architecture, she had often watched her father design blueprints for different buildings, and was fascinated by it. She didn't have much time to appreciate it before she was yanked by Rapunzel and Anna up the stairs. 'Uh oh. Stairs.' Elsa began thinking about Anna, who always was a bit clumsy. Elsa hoped Anna wouldn't fall anytime soon.

Rapunzel led Elsa to her room and pointed at the door proudly. Elsa gasped at the door, painted with an array of snowflakes in blues, purples, and silvers, with Elsa's name in cursive in the middle.

"Do you like it?" Rapunzel said hopefully.

"You made this yourself?" Elsa whispered as she lightly traced her fingers across the door.

"Yeah..." Rapunzel looked shy. "I love to paint."

"Really?! Anna spoke up. "Elsa is really good at drawing!"

"You are?" Rapunzel looked at Elsa, interest shining in her large green eyes. Now it was Elsa's turn to be shy.

"I-I wouldn't say I'm good..." Elsa hated being the center of attention.

"Oh, whatever, Elsa." Anna said jokingly.

Elsa opened her door and looked inside the room. It was mostly plain, a decent sized bed with a white comforter, a black desk with a lamp, and a large window with light blue curtains.

"I'll let you get settled." Rapunzel closed the door and walked Anna to her door, which was much like Elsa's, only painted with an array of flowers in greens, yellows, and pinks.

"She doesn't talk much does she?" Rapunzel referred to Elsa.

"No, not really." Anna laughed. "I'm surprised you got her to talk at all."

Rapunzel kept her serious tone. Her voice softened. "She's not taking it very well, is she?" It was hardly a question.

Anna's smile fell. "No. She wouldn't even come to the funeral. I thought she was depressed before," Anna let out a sigh of distaste, her walls coming down. Tears began to well in Anna's eyes. "I can't get her to talk to me. She eats less and less, and her eyes, they're just... dull."

"Y'know, I'm no expert, but maybe she needs medical attention. She's so thin... his can't be healthy." Rapunzel whispered.

"Elsa was in a mental hospital when we were younger. Apparently she had schizophrenia, and was 'violent and troubled'," Anna mocked the sounds of the doctors she often heard as a little girl. "Then one day, she... hurt me, I guess, and never forgave herself for it." Anna's voice began to give out, and tears started to fall down her freckled cheeks.

"Hey, now." grabbed Anna's shoulders. "No crying." Rapunzel frowned. "Dinner is in half an hour, we're having hazelnut soup!" Anna sniffed and smiled, hugging and thanking Rapunzel. Anna released her and they parted ways. Anna went into her flower-painted door, and Rapunzel went to her sun-painted one.

Meanwhile, Elsa had just finished putting up her clothes and setting up her laptop. Elsa searched through her bag until she found the little bottle of NyQuill, and downed more then what she deemed was healthy. She closed her eyes and was asleep almost instantly.


	2. Chapter 2

Primrose stared at the empty seat at the dinner table.

"Is Elsa not coming down?" She looked worried.

Anna quickly answered. "No. She isn't feeling very well." Rapunzel opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it after a look from Anna.

"Oh dear. I do hear there is a sickness going around. Did you hear, honey?" Primrose was soon distracted in a conversation with Thomas. Rapunzel scooted closer to Anna.

"She was asleep."

"Asleep?" Rapunzel questioned, a look of worry on her face.

"Yeah, she is just tired from the car ride is all." Anna changed the subject. "So, tell me more about your friends." Anna definitely peaked Rapunzel's interest.

"Okay, okay. There is Merida, my best friend, she lives just down the block. She's very... fiesty, but she'll warm up to you." She continued. "There's Kristoff, he's a pretty intimidating guy, but if you get to know him, he is such a teddy bear!" Anna's interest peaked at the mention of Kristoff, although she had no idea why. "There's Hiccup, but don't let his handsome looks fool you, he is the biggest dork, but we love him. Especially Merida, though she won't admit it yet." Rapunzel all of a sudden got a dreamy look on her face. "Then there's Flynn, he is such a rebel but such a cutie. We've been going out since last year, and I like him a lot." Anna smiled at the look on Rapunzel's face. There was nothing in the world Anna wanted more than to find true love, or at least she thought. "Then there is Hans, he is such a gentleman! Which is confusing because his brothers are like, the meanest people I've ever met. Him and Flynn have been best friends for, like, ever."

Anna wasn't sure if she got it all, at the pace Rapunzel was talking. She went over it in her head. 'Okay let's see, Merida: Fiesty and firey, Kristoff: Intimidating teddy bear, Hiccup: Handsome dork, Flynn: Rapunzel's man, a cutie but a rebel, Hans: Gentleman, black sheep in the family. Okay I think I've got it.' Anna felt so uncomfortable when things were awkward, so she liked to have things to know about people, so she would know what to say and not look like a fool.

"They sound wonderful." Anna couldn't wait to meet these people.

Rapunzel smiled, and then looked at her mom. "May we be excused?"

Primrose looked up from her phone. "Of course, dears."

"Thanks." Rapunzel and Anna said in unison, before darting out of the dining room and up the stairs.

"I'll introduce you to everyone tomorrow. Kay?" Rapunzel yawned.

"Kay." Anna yawned in response. They parted ways, Rapunzel went to her room, and Anna to hers.

_Later_

Anna poked her head out of her door, making sure the hallway was clear. She tiptoed very fast and not too gracefully to Elsa's room, slipped in, and seconds later slipped out, closing her door gently.

"Sweet dreams, Elsa."


	3. Chapter 3

Elsa felt smothered.

It was a good smothered, like...

Like a...

Like a **warm hug**.

Then, no air.

Elsa bolted up, her lungs gasping for air. Her face had been buried in her pillow, allowing her no oxygen. She looked at her surroundings in alarm, and her eyes found the small alarm clock on the bedside table.

_4:27_

Elsa attempted to lie back down, trying to calm herself. Was she sweating? She tried to roll over, and let sleep find her, but to no avail. She groaned, regretting she'd gone to sleep so early. She knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. She stood up, and walked over to the light switch.

It took her eyes a second to adjust to the bright light, but nothing in the room looked different. Same bed, same window, same des- wait, what is that?

Elsa approached the desk, looking at the objects that lay on it in confusion until they came into view. Was that- no, it couldn't be.

Next to Elsa's laptop lay her art supplies, and her sketchbook. Not just any sketchbook, the one her parents had gave her prior to their death. Elsa had only used several pages in the sketchbook, before the accident. She had sworn off drawing ever since. Elsa only drew when she was happy or inspired, none of which she had been feeling lately. She could almost swear she had left these back in Washington, how-

_Anna._

Elsa reluctantly drew her fingers nearer to the sketchbook, the pads of her fingers lightly tracing over the hard black cover. She picked it up, and brought it with her to her bed.

Elsa held her breath as she opened it to the first page. With trembling fingers, she flipped the hard black cover. She sighed and smiled. Her first drawing, which she had done immediately after receiving it, a snowflake. A rather large snowflake, with many intricate designs and much detail. Elsa's fingers lightly traced the slightly smudged pencil marks. She flipped it to the next page.

Elsa adored this one. It was of a faceless figure, with a long flowing braid, and a beautiful gown with a sheer cape, patterned with snowflakes.

Elsa flipped to the next page and nearly gasped. She had taken her time with this drawing. She had opted for ink, rather than pencil, for this one. It was of a magnificent palace, cradled by a snow-covered mountain.

She couldn't believe it had been only a few months since she had drawn these, it felt like forever. Elsa was sure that was all was in the sketchbook, but felt like flipping the pages for prosperity.

She flipped the page, and was confused by what she saw.

_A Hundred Reasons Why I Love You And __**You're Special**_

_From Anna_

_To Elsa_

Next to these words were crudely drawn cartoon characterized versions of them.

"Anna..." Elsa whispered as she flipped the page. On that page were 5 'reasons' all written and illustrated by Anna. Elsa continued flipping the pages, tears coming to her eyes. She smiled at some, like _You draw really super duper good_.

And laughed at others, like _You always smell really nice._

When Elsa got to the end, she gasped. Anna had obviously taken her time with the last drawing. It was done in pencil and colored pencils, the colors very bright.

It depicted Anna and Elsa, their elbows linked. It showed Anna in a black and green ballgown, her hair in an elaborate bun with ribbons hanging down from it. It depicted Elsa in a black and teal regency styled dress, with a long magenta cape, and her hair in an elaborate side bun.

Elsa wanted to go hug her sister and thank her a million times. Elsa felt so guilty that she'd been neglecting her sister, only thinking of herself. Elsa looked at the alarm clock.

_5:14_

'Probably not the best idea to wake her up now.' Elsa knew how Anna was in the mornings, and did not want to deal with _that, _no matter how much she loved her. 'Might as well get ready now.' Elsa thought a wide smile on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Elsa suddenly remembered where exactly she'd be going. Her smile fell.

Elsa wasn't very fond of school.

Okay, she absolutley _loathed _it. It wasn't that she found it challenging or difficult in terms of school work. It made her anxious. Elsa was not a social butterfly like her sister. She liked to be alone, just not to feel lonely. A long time ago she had gotten into the habit of faking sick in order to miss school. This only caused her to fall behind in terms of work, and made her anxiety levels rise.

It was a vicious cycle.

Elsa looked in her closet, trying to decide what to wear. She wanted very much to wear her favorite hoodie or sweatshirt, but this was not late-winter Washington. She allowed herself to wear denim shorts, something in her closet she never wore. This could not stop her from wearing long sleeves, however. It was a light long sleeve shirt, in a dark blue color. She justified herself by the fact that it was going to be a rainy day for the most part.

Elsa scrounged through the bottom of her closet for acceptable shoes. 'Boots, boots, more boots, ah ha!' There! She pulled out a pair of navy blue vans, and slipped them on. She stared at herself in the full-length mirror attached to her closet door. This was an outfit definitely out of her comfort zone. She ran her hand through her messy hair, trying to think of what to do with it. She certainly couldn't wear it down.

Anna and Elsa have always had... weird hair. First of all, it was nothing like their parents' dark hair. Anna's was a strawberry brownish/blonde and Elsa somehow became a platinum blonde. Their hair was never quite curly, or straight, or even wavy. Anna had hair that always wanted to frizz up and never lay right on her head. Elsa's hair always curled at the ends awkwardly and she had annoying bangs that never seemed to grow out or stay out of her face.

Elsa french braided her hair, and looked herself over in the mirror. Elsa hadn't worn her hair like this in ages. The last time she did, her mother had done it for her. Elsa suddenly felt self conscious and guilty wearing her hair like this for some reason, so quickly twisted it into a bun.

'There.' Elsa thought. 'Acceptable enough.'

Her eyes found her clock. It was almost six. If she remembered correctly they would be leaving at 7:20. If Anna wanted breakfast, she should wake up now.

Elsa walked into the hallway. She could here what sounded like cooking, most likely from Primrose, and rustling and other noises coming from Rapunzel's room. She approached Anna's door. Elsa couldn't hear anything except Anna's famous snoring. She almost laughed.

Elsa reached her hand towards the doorknob before retreating it. She wanted so bad to just open the door and tackle Anna in a hug. But Anna had always respected Elsa's privacy, and had always knocked.

Even if she never opened it.

Elsa knocked one, twice, three times on the flower-painted door. "Anna?" She heard what she could only describe as someone choking on their own spit.

"Huh. Who is it?" Anna said tiredly. Elsa could hear rusting of blankets.

"I-Its me. Elsa..." Elsa did not expect the door to open so quickly. She was struck with the fresh-out-of-bed sight of her sister. Anna's hair was nearly completely piled on top of her head. Anna looked so surprised, Elsa laughed. "Anna," She scolded, "What did I tell you about sleeping with all those products in your hair?" Elsa walked into the mess of Anna's room and grabbed the brush from her desk. Anna turned and walked back into her room, dumbfounded. Elsa patted the spot in front of her on Anna's bed. She smiled and sat down if front of her as she began to brush Anna's hair.

"Its really sweet, what you did." Anna was almost to engrossed in the good feeling of Elsa brushing her hair, somehow getting all the knots out without making it hurt.

"Huh?" Anna said with a yawn.

"The sketchbook. You have more artistic talent than you give yourself credit for."

"You, you like it?" Elsa could almost hear the smile on Anna's face.

"Yes, I do." Elsa finished the last knot. "I'm sorry I've been so selfish." Anna turned around and gave her sister a large bear hug, which Elsa enjoyed.

For a moment.

"An-Anna. Can't... breathe." Elsa wheezed out. Anna apologized and immediately let go of her sister. "Now get dressed. I think Auntie is making pancakes!" Anna gasped.

"Auntie's famous pancakes?!" The girls hadn't had those pancakes in forever, by the girls' standards, you haven't lived until you've had Aunt Primrose's pancakes.

"Of course!" Elsa laughed. "What else?"

Elsa closed her sister's door and walked downstairs. Rapunzel was sitting at the counter, talking on her phone to a 'Flynn'. Thomas, walking into the living room, was on his phone as well, talking to someone who Elsa believed was much more important.

Primrose looked up from her cutting board, strewn with slices of bananas and strawberries. "Good morning dear. We missed you at dinner last night."

"Yeah. I was just tired from the trip is all." Primrose smiled.

"That's good to hear. Honey!" Thomas came back from the living room hearing his wife's call. "The pancakes are done!" Rapunzel and her father both immediately turned off their phones. At that moment, Anna came bolting down the stairs, successfully managing to not lose her footing. Her hair was in her classic pigtail braids, she had on a green t-shirt, jean shorts, and her favorite green and black sneakers.

Pretty soon everyone was settled and enjoying the most delicious pancakes they believed to exist. Primrose and Thomas's pancakes were much less extravagant than the girls'. Rapunzel's had so many blueberries, the pancakes started to look purple. She had used liquid icing, instead of syrup. Anna and Elsa had the same, lots and lots of chocolate; chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, chocolate shavings, chocolate _everything. _

Rapunzel smiled at the sight of Anna and Elsa actually talking to each other. Even though Elsa was older than Rapunzel, she was still worried for her. She was obviously not a very social person, and it wouldn't help that she wouldn't know anyone in her grade. The high school here, was not exactly a 'friendly' place. "Hmmm.' Rapunzel thought.'Merida! Merida is Elsa's age.' Rapunzel figured she would introduce everyone in the morning in the courtyard before school starts.

Pretty soon pancakes were gone, and Elsa's anxiety was rising as she thought about this new school. Primrose spoke up. "Honey? Do you need me to drive you all?"

"No, no. I've got it." Rapunzel shook her keys, and led the girls outside to her car. It was a relatively new punchbug, painted pastel purple. Both Anna and Elsa climbed into the backseat, their backpacks in tow. "Ready?" Rapunzel asked excitedly. Anna nodded, a huge smile on her face. Elsa did the same. 'As I'll ever be.' She thought as they pulled out of the driveway.


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N: Thank you guys so much for the lovely reviews, I'm working on making longer chapters hehehe.)**

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Elsa played with the sleeves of her shirt anxiously. She felt like throwing up. She tried to calm herself. It was just school, why was she so nervous? She looked at her sister, who couldn't be more excited. Elsa was envious of how easily Anna adapted to social situations, and how likable she was. She was just that type of person.

"Okay, guys. The school is pretty big, and everyone is excited to see everyone because of winter break and all. I'll be sure to give you two tours, the last thing we need is you guys getting lost." Rapunzel's words calmed Elsa a bit. "First, we'll get your schedules, then we have a half hour before classes. So I'll introduce you to my friends." _Friends._ That did not calm her. Just the opposite exactly. Elsa pulled her sleeves over her hands.

"Well, here we are." The car drove through two large, black gates. The first thing Elsa noticed was the size of the building, it had to be at least three stories. Rapunzel wasn't joking when she said it was large. The next thing she noticed was the courtyard. It stretched from the side of the school and wrapped around the back. There were a lot of people. _A lot; _on cars, at tables, everywhere. Rapunzel found a parking space, not too far from the main entrance.

'Nobody's staring... that's good.' She thought. Then they got out.

It wasn't like the entire courtyard stooped what they were doing, but people were definitely staring. 'Geez,' She thought. 'Have they never had new kids? ' Anna and Elsa had to nearly speed walk to match Rapunzel's pace. She was waving excitedly and saying 'Hey!' to everyone Elsa assumed she knew. Anna's smile never left her face, but it looked a little forced. After what felt like forever, they reached the entrance of the school. Elsa loved the cool air that washed over her when she entered. She had to admit, the school looked pretty nice.

It was the people she was worried about.

The girls followed Rapunzel into the office adjacent to the entrance. A lady who Elsa believed was the secretary looked up from her computer.

"Ah! Rapunzel, there you are." She pushed up her glasses and turned her attention to the girls. "You two must be Anna and Elsa!" They nodded. "We've heard good things about you two!" She began shuffling papers. The girls looked confused. What 'good things' had they heard? From who? All Elsa could do was play the violin, and it wasn't that impressive by Elsa's standards. "Ah ha!" The lady pulled out two papers. She looked at Anna. "Anna Arendelle, junior?" Anna nodded, and took the paper. She turned to Elsa. "Elsa Arendelle, senior?" Elsa hadn't realized she was slightly hugging herself until she began to reach for the paper. "Those are your schedules, and I've excused you two from first period so Rapunzel can show you around the school." She handed them each a slip that would excuse them.

"Thanks!" Rapunzel and Anna said in unison. Elsa muttered a thank you before following the girls out the door.

* * *

Hans Anderson pulled into his favorite parking spot, happy to be back after winter break, happy to do anything to get away from his brothers really.

He looked for a familiar face, and spotted Flynn.

Flynn had been his best friend since they were children. Hans was constantly bullied and tormented by his brothers, and Flynn was constantly outcast for being the orphan, the unlucky one, who didn't have everything he wanted. With this they found common ground, and stuck together all this time. Now they were seniors, and since last year, roommates.

Hans climbed out of his car and Flynn walked over immediately.

"Have you seen Rapunzel?" Flynn looked... distressed to say the least. Hans laughed.

"I can't say I have, I just got here." Hans thought there was no better match than Flynn and Rapunzel. They balanced each other out. Rapunzel had broken him out of a lot of his bad habits, ones that got him into trouble, and Eugene showed Rapunzel the fun in life. Hans still remembers the day he saw one of the big impacts Flynn had on Rapunzel, her long blonde hair had been pixie-cut, and dyed to her natural brown color. Everyone was shocked, but it suited her better anyways.

"Well, there's her car, but she's not with the guys." Flynn gestured to the table where Merida, Hiccup, and Kristoff sat.

"Um, she's right there." Flynn must have been going crazy. For the first time in the conversation he actually looked at the table, which Rapunzel was approaching. Huh, who are they? Rapunzel was being followed by two girls; one who was almost slightly bouncing in her walk, and one who was ever so slightly hugging herself, not looking comfortable at all. Flynn and Hans walked to the table and sat down next to Kristoff before the girls reached the table. Merida turned from her conversation with Hiccup as Rapunzel arrived.

"Guys, these are my cousins, they're going to be going to school here." She gestured to Anna. "This is Anna," Anna waved a bit awkwardly, her eyes constantly flickering to who she assumed to be Kristoff. Rapunzel gestured to Elsa. "...and Elsa." She smiled. Hans stomach did flips when she glanced at him. He averted his eyes out of shyness. Rapunzel started at the end of the table to introduce everyone. She was about to introduce Merida, but she beat her to it. She bolted up from the table.

"Merida Dun'Broch!" She said in a thick Scottish accent, shaking each of their hands roughly. The force rattled through the girls. "Its nice ta meet 'cha!" She sat down, smiling broadly. Rapunzel moved on to man who had previously been engrossed in a book.

"This is Hiccup."

"Hey." He waved politely and returned to his book. Merida didn't look to happy about that, and tried to resume a conversation with him.

"This," She motioned to the blonde. "is Kristoff." From what Elsa could see, Kristoff did not look like the type of person who enjoyed a lot of company, he looked like someone who would rather be alone. Elsa noticed that Anna's eyes lingered on him just a bit longer than everyone else.'Uh oh.' Elsa thought. 'Does my baby sister have a crush?' Kristoff didn't say anything, but acknowledged that they were there.

"This is Flynn." Rapunzel said as she began nearing the end of the table. Flynn gave them a flirty smile, which did not make Rapunzel look pleased. She flicked him on the back of the neck. He smiled at her playfully. 'Awwwww.' Anna thought. 'They are so cute!'.

"And this is Hans." Rapunzel said with a sense of finality, reaching the end of the table. Hans gave one of his perfect-teeth smiles, nodding to both of them. Elsa's stomach twisted.

A rather loud bell rang. It frightened the sisters for a moment, and they both jumped a bit. Most of the table smiled at how the girls looked like frightened birds in a whole new environment. Though they could of sworn they heard laughing. From two people to be exact.

"Well, I guess we might as well start the tour now." Rapunzel waved at the group of friends as they got up and left the table, some waving back at the girls. Once all of the people who were outside had flooded inside, Rapunzel began to speak. "This is the courtyard," Rapunzel began to walk behind the school,to show the other half of the courtyard. There were lots of round, concrete tables scattered across the yard, and vending machines against the wall of the school. "More often than not we eat lunch here, and spend whatever free time we can out here." Elsa had to admit it was beautiful. The grass was so green, she wondered briefly whether or not it was real. Rapunzel led the girls to the front of the school, ready to start the inside tour. Elsa gulped, pulled her sleeves over her hands, and followed her inside.

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**(A/N: Yay for awkward introductions! And, yes, the two people laughing were Kristoff and Hans. Thanks again for the reviews, it means a lot!)**


	6. Chapter 6

The tour had gone pretty smoothly. The girls learned where their classes were and the fastest way to get to them. Elsa was thanking her lucky stars she didn't have to take PE this year. Anna, however, did, and was not happy. Not at all. Anna was a very clumsy person, if she didn't pay enough attention she could get easily hurt. Everyone was reminded of this earlier when Anna almost fell down a flight of stairs, but latched on to the railing to stop herself. She could of sworn Elsa almost had a heart attack.

Now here Elsa was, in third period, bored out of her mind.

It wasn't that she found Mrs. Anastasia's teachings to be boring, she found Russian history to be very exciting. It was just that Elsa had already been through this unit in Washington, not to mention the standards here were just a bit lower than her previous school. Elsa was respectful and still took notes, as Mrs. Anastasia, or Mrs. Anya, as she liked to be called, was av very lovely teacher and explained things in a straight forward way that was easy to understand.

"Okay guys, you know I don't believe in homework, but remember the test is next Thursday, so you'd be wise to study." With that the bell rang, and everyone bolted up, eager to get to lunch. Elsa waded through the sea of students looking for a familiar face. Soon most of those students had either gone in the cafeteria or courtyard, and only a few were still in the hallways. Elsa sighed and figured she might as well make her way down stairs. She could feel the presence of someone behind her, but ignored it. She could hear their pace quicken, and come up behind her. She glanced behind her to see the figure of choice move to walk beside her.

"Hey, you're on of the new girls, right?" Elsa stared at the blonde. She had bright blue eyes and tan skin, her voice slightly nasally and high pitched. Elsa nodded.

"Well, hey! I'm Cinderella! You can call me Cindy, or Ella, whatevs. Are you Anna or Elsa?" 'Wow. She talks fast.'

"... Elsa." She was apprehensive about Cindy's extreme enthusiasm.

"Elsa? Ohmygosh that is such a pretty name! Girls? Come meet Elsa." Three other girls joined beside Cindy. Elsa's smile fell. 'Where on Earth did they come from?'

One of the girls was as tan as Cindy, but with sandy blonde hair. The other had her brown hair tied back out of her slightly freckled face. The last one had red hair so bright against her tan skin, Elsa highly doubted it was natural.

"Why don't you sit with us at lunch?" The girls all looked at her expectantly.

"I- uh, I- um," Elsa felt like an idiot, fumbling with words. "I planned on sitting with some- someone else."

All four girls collectively pouted. "With who?" Cindy questioned, her pout never leaving her lips. Elsa's eyes scrounged the hallways, looking for anyway out. 'Ah ha!' She spotted Merida.

Elsa ran up to her, holding on to her arm. When Merida saw Cindy and the girls, her face turned to a frown, and she looked like a mother bear, ready to protect Elsa.

Elsa didn't notice. "I was planning on sitting with Martha!" Merida turned around, offended.

"Its Merida!" Elsa tugged on her arm.

"Give me a break I just met you this morning." Elsa murmured.

"Oh. Well, that's too bad. Maybe next time." Cindy said, her voice had lost all of its innocence and cheer. Not in a 'I'm super sad way' but in a 'I am not happy right now way'. Cindy waved and walked to the courtyard, her clique in tow. Once they were outside, Elsa let go of Merida's arm.

"Geez, lass. How'da get tied up with 'em?" Elsa really did look like a frightened bird. Merida laughed.

"I- I don't know, they just came out of nowhere and-" Merida laughed harder, snorting.

"That sound about right. They're vultures, the'll eat 'cha up alive. I'll have Punzie tell you all about it." They walked out to the courtyard, and spotted their table. Everyone was their, chatting, except Flynn and Eugene.

_Inside the school's basement_

"Oh my God, Flynn, what are you doing?" Hans stared at his friend, who was no doubt up to something. "Why did you bring me down here?" Flynn concentrated on what he was doing, not looking up from the crate he was messing with.

"You, my friend, are about to witness the greatest prank ever pulled."

Hans groaned. "Flynn I thought we'd sworn off pranking." No response. Hans thought, and smiled, he knew what to say. "What would Punzie say?" Flynn stopped, sighed, and dropped the crate, lifting his hands up.

"Fine, fine. No fireworks then."

"Wh- Fireworks?!"

"Not anymore." Flynn said. "What do you wanna do?"

"What do I- I just want to go each lunch upstairs!"

"So you can ogle that anti-social blonde?" Hans's face turned red. Flynn smirked. "I knew it."

Hans rolled his eyes. "You don't know anything." They both began to head up the stairs, leaving the fireworks behind. 'I have to be sure to hide those.' Hans thought.

_Courtyard_

Elsa sat by her sister, listening to Punzie's tale of the 'princesses'.

"You see, Cindy and I, we used to be best friends, once we came to high school she... changed. You see, she's really good at manipulating people once she finds their angle." She said in a hushed voice. "You see Aurora, the dark blonde one." Rapunzel nodded towards her with her head. Elsa nodded. "That's Cindy's cousin, she is really super sweet, but Cindy has her wrapped around her finger. The brunette, that's Belle. She used to have glasses, and was the smartest girl in school; book club president, assistant librarian, everything. Cindy got a hold of her last year. Now Belle pretends to be dumb, and you didn't hear it from me, but we all think she is in an abusive relationship with Adam, the quarterback." 'Oh my god.' Elsa thought. 'That's horrible!' "You see the one with the bright red hair, that's Ariel. She's an exchange student from Australia. The first day we met her, she was really nice and could sing like nobody's business. Now she's quiet, never sings, and Cindy won't allow her to date Eric."

"Won't allow her?" Anna repeated. Rapunzel shook her head.

"Nope. Like I said, wrapped around her finger."

"So, she just goes around, messing up lives for fun?" Elsa questioned. Rapunzel shrugged.

"I guess? Also I'm pretty sure they do some illegal stuff, I'm just glad I got away from her when I did. She basically runs the school, everyone caters to her, even the teachers."

"Why?" Anna asked, pizza in her mouth. Elsa quietly signaled for her to close her mouth.

"Her parents, well, stepparents, are like the richest people within a thousand mile radius. She could probably get away with murder."

Merida groaned. "You wanna talk about gettin way with murder!" She turned her attention to Hiccup, and started rambling about her annoying little brothers. Hiccup put down his book to listen to her. That's what Merida loved about him. He put down his books, something he rarely did, just for her.

Kristoff and Anna were sending each other glares from across the table. 'Goodness, what happened between them?' Elsa thought.

_Earlier__, at PE_

_"Well at least I can throw a ball, or walk without falling on my face." Kristoff responded to Anna's sass._

_"Well," She fumbled. "At least, I- um." She failed to come up with a witty retort. 'How does he do this so easily?' Kristoff laughed and walked out of the gym._

_"Don't worry, honey." Tiana approached her. "Its his defense mechanism."_

_"Oh. Okay. Hey, what's a defense mechanism?"_

Elsa had enough, and sent Kristoff a look that said 'stop glaring at my baby sister'. The problem was solved almost immediately.

"Hey Punz." Flynn approached and kissed her on the cheek. Rapunzel giggled.

"Hey." He sat next to her and put his hand on hers. Anna had to physically restrain herself from saying 'Awwwwww'. Hans sat next to Kristoff, across from Elsa. Flynn winked at him. If looks could kill Flynn would have been long dead by now. Conversations eventually died down and everyone sat, eating their lunch in peace.

Its a shame Merida hated silence. "So, Anna. Tell me, what do you like to do?" Anna was thrown off by this, momentarily choking on her pizza.

"Um, I- um." Kristoff tried to contain his laughter, he didn't want any more death stares from big sis. 'Its not my fault she's so cute. wAIT WAIT NO NO SHE IS NOT CUTE DO NOT THINK LIKE THAT KRISTOFF!' Elsa stared at her sister, knowing what it was like to be uncomfortable like that, and answered for her.

"Anna loves to write. She's very good at it, too." Elsa said quietly. Kristoff, Hiccup, and Hans looked up from their plates, surprised she spoke.

"I- I wouldn't say I'm good, hehehe." Anna laughed awkwardly.'C'mon, Anna. You don't write. Its not like you wrote a story that took up two notebooks about two sisters in a mystical land with magic powers and a talking snowman.'

"Nonsense, lass. I'm sure you're great at it!" Merida turned to Elsa. "And what about you?"

"Me? Oh, um. I draw... and-" Anna interrupted.

"Draw? You do more than 'draw', Elsa. You create masterpieces! Also she plays the violin." Elsa was sending Anna glares.

"She does? Hans plays the piano!" Flynn smirked. Hans was glaring at him. "You two should play together sometime, or whatever it is musicians do." Elsa blushed.

"Eugene," Rapunzel began to scold Flynn, using his real name.

"Eugene?" Anna questioned.

"Wait, what?" Flynn was confused.

The bell suddenly rang, startling the sisters again. Anna jumped and Elsa hiccuped. Anna stared at her sister.

"I've never heard you hiccup before..." Anna said in realization.

"Hiccup?" Merida questioned.

Hiccup looked up from his book. "Wait, what?"

The table almost went to chaos, almost.

"Well," Kristoff said, getting up. "This all went to hell in a hand basket. I don't know about you guys, but Ms. Gothel will rip me apart if I'm late." Kristoff began to walk back into the school.

Everyone collectively got up and headed back for the rest of today's classes, leaving Anna and Elsa at the table, confused.

_Later_

Elsa walked down the school staircase, her back pack in tow. According to a text from Anna, she was supposed to meet her and Rapunzel in the parking lot. 'They're probably annoyed waiting on me,' Elsa thought guiltily. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she sped up a bit, turning a corner into the next hallway, and hitting what felt like a brick wall.

_..._

Hans sped up walking down the hallway, he couldn't believe he'd left his economics textbook. He shuddered at the memory of the famous words of Ms. Gothel, the economics teacher. 'The world is a dark, selfish place, and if you want to make it in it, blah blah blah.' He turned the corner of the hallway ready to speed up the stairs when something small and soft ran in to him.

_Oof_

Elsa groaned, the force of whatever she ran into knocking her down. She looked up to see Hans.

It took about three seconds before apologies started spilling out of their mouths.

* * *

**(A/N: So, what do you guys think of Cindy and her friends? I want to know now because I'm thinking of doing something serious with them as characters, like super serious, but I want to know what you guys think. Teenage drama/murder mystery...? Yay? Nay? Sorry if Hiccup didn't talk too much, its been a year since I've seen HTTYD, but he's supposed to be a quiet character anyways.)**


	7. Chapter 7

Rapunzel and Anna had gone to see what had held up Elsa, and saw an interesting sight indeed.

Elsa was on the floor, and Hans was slightly crouched down. They were both profusely apologizing to each other.

"Here," Hans offered his hand, which Elsa reluctantly took.

"I- I'm so sorry." She blushed while he lifted her up with ease. It was then that she got a better picture of their height difference. He towered above her; she only barely reached his shoulder! They locked eyes for a few moments. Dull sapphires stared into polished emerald.

Anna couldn't stand it anymore, with a wide grin on her face, she went to interrupt them. Did her big sis like someone?! 'This is gonna be fun!' Anna thought, her matchmaker side coming out.

"Hey guys!" Anna and Rapunzel walked out from behind the wall they were watching from. Elsa hadn't realized she was still holding his hand and quickly dropped her arm, missing its warmth already.

"Are you ready to go?" Rapunzel asked. "It's going to start pouring soon."

"Uh, yeah." Elsa started fidgeting. She could feel Hans's eyes on her.

Elsa walked over to her sister. Anna's smile was beginning to make her uncomfortable.

"Bye Hans!" Rapunzel waved first, then Anna, then a small, sort of wave from Elsa. Pretty soon they were out the main entrance, Hans sighed and resumed going to look for his textbook. Wait, what is that? Hans could of swore he heard something. Was that, laughing? Hans quirked a brow as Flynn came out from behind that very wall, cracking up.

"Someone has a crush!" Flynn was smiling broadly. excited for his friend. "Man, I thought it would never happen!"

"What are you even talking about? She fell, and I helped her up." Hans resumed walking up the stairs. Flynn followed right behind him.

"I mean, you two are perfect for each other!"

"I can literally count on my fingers how many words we've exchanged, I do not have a crush." Flynn ignored him, and began listing of reasons they would be perfect.

"You're both quiet, and pale, and-"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hans reached his locker.

"The fact that you only go outside when necessary." Hans winced. That one kind of stung. "Rapunzel said that she's super smart, just like _you._" Hans groaned. So what if he kind of maybe sorta liked her. He hated it when Flynn tried to play matchmaker. He pulled his textbook out and slammed his locker, attempting hint to him to drop the subject.

Flynn laughed at Hans's attempt to be intimidating. "I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover." Flynn continued laughing. Little did Hans know, Elsa was going through a similar problem.

...

Elsa groaned as Anna followed her up the stairs, that stupid grin never leaving her face.

"Soooooo, what else did he say to you, huh?"

"Nothing, Anna." She was losing patience. She knew what Anna was up to. Anna was a writer, she had a thing for romance.

"Do you think he's cute?"

Rapunzel happened to walked by, with her little chameleon, Pascal, in her hands, when Elsa attempted to be as intimidating as she could to her little sister.

"Anna, just drop it!" She said, trying to look as angry as possible.

Rapunzel giggled. "I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover." She continued walking into her room, laughing about Elsa's flustered face.

_Later, at dinner_

Primrose's phone rang, and when she looked at it, she looked worried.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to take this." Primrose got up from the dinner table, walking into the living room.

"That was weird." Rapunzel said. Then she shrugged. "Probably just someone important."

"So, where did Thomas go?" Elsa inquired, taking a bite of her chicken.

Rapunzel looked up. "He's going upsate for a business thing. He goes on those a lot."

"Oh." Elsa said.

Anna was still smiling at her, making Elsa uncomfortable.

"Rapunzel," Primrose reentered the dining room, her hand over her phone. "Why don't you take the girls and show them around the mall?"

"Um, okay." She stared skeptically at her mother. "When do we have to be back?" Primrose had resumed talking on the phone and waved at her daughter absentmindedly.

_..._

The road to the mall had been pretty uneventful. At least for Elsa it was. Rapunzel and Anna had been engaged in a conversation about something, but Elsa never liked car rides, and almost always stayed quiet and stared out the window.

Rapunzel pulled up to a large building that Elsa assumed was the mall. There were so many cars, there was no way their could be a parking space. But Rapunzel was persistent, and knew this town like the back of her hand, and eventually found one.

Before Rapunzel could pull in, however, a large black van beat her to it.

Rapunzel couldn't stop herself from rolling down the window, honking her horn and spitting out a string of curses, throwing her middle finger up. Her mouth dropped when she saw who got out of the passenger seat.

"Whoa there Punzie, don't go picking up too many habits from me!"

Rapunzel groaned and set her head on the steering wheel. "Eugene, I swear."

Elsa took a sharp intake of breath at who got out of the driver's seat. 'Hans...'

Anna immediately regained her grin, poking Elsa in the shoulder several times. Anna's smile fell when Kristoff got out of the back seat.

Soon a car pulled out and left, and Rapunzel was able to pull in.

It had began raining. Hard.

The group all immediately ran in to the building as fast as they could, desperate to not be soaked.

After they were all inside, standing by the large fountain, Flynn bent down to whisper something in Rapunzel's ears. She at first looked confused, but then a look of realization hit her.

"Oh! I almost forgot. Sorry," She turned to the rest of the group."Um, Hans? Kristoff? Do you guys mind showing the girls around? I completely forgot, I had plans with Flynn."

Kristoff looked at Anna, and he did not look happy. He opened his mouth to say something, and Hans promptly elbowed him in the ribs, shutting him up.

"We'd love to." Hans said, smiling.

"Great." Rapunzel said. She noticed how Kristoff and Anna were glaring at each other, and rolled her eyes. "Flynn and I are just down the road, text me if you need me." The couple began to walk out, but not before Flynn could wink at Hans and Kristoff.

Anna ans Elsa stared wistfully out the door as Rapunzel left, the girls' security blanket gone. Anna and Kristoff then resumed their glaring, and Elsa was surprised at the almost _evil_ look in Anna's eyes. Hans noticed this, and thought of a plan.

"Since you two clearly can't stand each other, why don't I take Anna around, and Kristoff, you take Elsa." There, now Hans wouldn't have to see Anna and Kristoff bicker, and he wouldn't be flustered around Elsa.

"Okay!" Anna said happily, latching on to Hans's arm. Elsa couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. 'Jealousy? Ha! As if.'

"Why don't we meet back at the food court," Hans looked at his watch. "In an hour."

They all agreed and went their separate ways.

...

Hans and Anna walked quietly, he occasionally would point out certain things, and tell her where certain stores were. Anna took a good look at Hans. He was definitely handsome, and very tall. He had a rather sharp and straight nose, and a chiseled face. 'Yes, he will do well for Elsa.' Anna thought.

"So," Anna began, her tone suddenly serious as she finished buying her necklace from the small store. "Do you like my sister?" He faltered a bit in his walking, never hearing her voice so serious.

"W-what?"

"Do. You. Like. My. Sister?" Anna repeated, saying the words slow.

"Um, I- uh, think she's, nice-"

"Nice?" Anna cut him off. 'Y'know, if you like my sister, you can tell me. I'm sort of an expert on these things."

"You are?" Hans quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Now, where are the party dresses?"

"This way." Hans began to direct her, thankful she had changed the subject.

...

"I don't like the way you look at my sister." Elsa said to Kristoff, She was semi-distracted looking through the clothes rack.

Kristoff rolled his eyes. He didn't think Elsa to be intimidating, not one bit. He doubted she had a strong willed bone in her body.

But the last thing he needed was some crazy over protective big sister coming after him.

Elsa didn't like his lack of response, but she wasn't about to test her tour guide. It had taken Elsa a bit of courage to speak up to him. He stood very tall, and was a bit bulky. Elsa almost laughed at the fact that her sister wasn't intimidated by his physique at all, going so far as to be his enemy. Anna was a very stubborn, headstrong person, who didn't back down easily. That's when it hit her. She almost dropped the shirt in her hand. They had crushes on each other! It was so obvious!

"So," Elsa began, paying for the light blue tee. "You and my sister, huh?"

"Huh, What?" Kristoff asked, his eyes flickered to the blonde. He had been looking at a dog leash. 'If only Sven could wear leashes.' His thoughts began to drift to his secret pet reindeer.

Elsa realized that she had lost him, and figured she'd press on the subject later.

...

An hour passed, and Kristoff and Elsa waited at the food court for Hans and Anna. They eventually came into sight, and gaped gaped at the sheer amount of bags Anna had. Hans was carrying many, and looked slightly pained.

"Hey, guys. Guess I sorta splurged, huh?" She laughed.

Anna felt like she was sacrificing herself sitting next to Kristoff, but it was so Hans would be forced to sit next to Elsa. Kristoff noticed what she was doing, and applauded her sense of subtlety, maybe she was smarter than he thought.

"I just texted Punzie, she said she's be here in a minute. Elsa? What did you get?"

"Less than you, obviously." She referred to her array of bags.

"Hey hey hey!" Rapunzel snuck up behind Elsa, startling her. Elsa almost screamed and fell out of her chair, banging her head on the table rather hard while doing so.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry," Rapunzel helped her up. Elsa laughed it off, even though her head was in immense pain. It took her a second to stop laughing, she figured she was just in shock.

"Are you alright?" Hans looked worried.

"Y-yeah. I'm okay." Her laughter faded.

"Jesus, Punzie. Why are you so violent?" Flynn teased.

"Oh shut up. I didn't mean to. Are you sure your okay Elsa?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Elsa said quietly, rubbing the side of her head. Her eyes flickered to Anna, who looked like she was coming down from a heart attack. "I'm _fine_, Anna." Kristoff thought Anna's worry was sweet, wait, since when did he think something was sweet?

Rapunzel gave Flynn a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Okay. See ya." Flynn started to walk towards the exit, with Kristoff and Hans ready to follow him. Elsa attempted to stand up, and faltered. Hans quickly grabbed her arms and steadied her.

"Whoa there, are you sure your alright?"

"Yeah, I'll put some ice on it later."

"Okay, be careful." Hans waved, walking off.

Elsa waved back, smiling slightly.

...

"So, guess where we're going this weekend?" Rapunzel had begun pulling out of the parking lot of the mall.

"Where?" Anna perked up, the rainy weather had been bringing her down.

"My mom called me, and y'know that person she was on the phone with? That was Mrs. Anderson, Hans's mom. She invited us to her party!" Rapunzel made happy sounds. "I know what your thinking, how can a party thrown by someone's mom be that fun? Well, here's how! That family is so rich. I mean like, crazy rich. I'm talking like, Great Gatsby level party throwing."

"Really?" Anna asked. She had read so many books about grand parties, she thought she'd never attend one. But wait, she didn't have a dress!

"I wish I would have known earlier, but we can go get dresses tomorrow."

Anna and Rapunzel lavished over how exciting this was, but it hardly reached Elsa's ears. She was leaning against the window, a major headache coming on to her. Elsa faintly heard something about 13 children.

'Poor Hans." Elsa thought, it must be horrible to have that many siblings.

Before she knew it, it was dark and they were home. Elsa thought that word over, _home. _Was this her home? It was beginning to feel like it, but mainly all Elsa could feel was a headache. She climbed up the stairs with slight difficultly, while Rapunzel and Anna talked to Primrose.

Elsa slumped on her bed, suddenly tired. She curled into her big white comforter, kicking her socks off. She was more half asleep when it dawned on her that something had to be wrong, something to do with her hitting her head on the table.

But she was too far deep.

* * *

**(A/N: You guys thought I was going to make Sven a dog, huh? Nope. Kristoff illegally owns a reindeer. Does Elsa have a concussion? Probably. Will this end well? Probably not. If you're wondering where Hiccup is, Merida dragged him to her archery practice. I forgot to put that bit in there. Tell me what you think!)**


	8. Chapter 8

Anna groaned at the loud beeps penetrating her ears. She slammed her fist down on her alarm clock, something Elsa had often scolded her for. 'Just like mom.' Anna had thought. She looked around groggily, and was disappointed that Elsa hadn't came to wake her up, like she had yesterday.

The first thing Anna tried to do was run a brush through her tangled hair, failing miserably. 'How does Elsa do it?' She thought absentmindedly. Wait, what is that?

Anna heard a faint beeping, but she couldn't detect where from. She slammed her fist down on her alarm clock. Nothing.

She soon realized it was coming from across the hall. Anna peeked out her door to see Rapunzel half dressed, doing the same.

"I think its coming from Elsa's room." Rapunzel said, coming out of her room with her pajama top and jeans on.

Anna walked to Elsa's door and knocked three times. It was definitely coming from Elsa's room.

No answer.

"Elsa...?" Anna opened the snowflake covered door. Elsa's alarm clock was still beeping, not fazing the unconscious blonde who lay strewn across the bed, face down.

Anna quickly turned the alarm clock off.

"Elsa?" Rapunzel walked in, half of her short hair straightened..

"E-Elsa?" Anna lightly shook her sister, but no response. Panic shot through Anna as she turned her over, shaking her harder now. "C'mon, get up... Elsa?" Anna put her head to her sister's chest.

Anna nearly threw up when she heard nothing.

But then, _ba-dump. _She sighed with slight relief that there was in fact a heartbeat.

"Girls? You're going to be la-" Primrose walked in and could feel the fear in the room. "What's going on?"

"Elsa won't wake up! I think its because she hit her head at the mall-" Rapunzel looked more than frightened.

"She hit her head? And you didn't do anything?"

"Well, she was laughing! She said she was fine!"

"Oh god," Primrose was in no mood to argue with her daughter. She began to shake her niece. "Elsa, honey." She began to shake as hard as she could. Anna stared in horror. This was her worst nightmare.

Elsa's eyes groggily opened. Her pupils were uneven, and her vision was blurry.

"Hng-" Elsa tried to form words, but found none. All she knew was her head hurt. A lot. However she could clearly hear the conversation between Auntie and Rapunzel.

"We need to call 911!" She heard her cousin yell.

"The dispatch is horrible. The hospital is only ten minutes away!" Auntie said. "Elsa, honey, can you stand up for us?"

Elsa couldn't form words, or see very well, but she could move. She propped herself up on her elbows. Was she crying? She never cried. Her head hurt. She wanted to go back to sleep, she felt like vomiting.

Before she knew it, she was in the car, a small blanket draped over her shoulders.

"Anna? I need you to keep Elsa awake, okay?" Primrose said, speeding down the road. But Elsa felt so tired, just so tired.

"Elsa?" The blonde turned to the face of her darling sister, her vision going in and out of focus. "Don't worry, we'll be there soon." Anna voice was so shaky, she was obviously horrified. She had heard stories about what had happened to those with serious concussions that went untreated. Even a few of those who had died due to swelling of the brain. Elsa thought it to be ironic, her darling little sister trying to take care of her, it was supposed to be the other way around. "Okay, who did we eat lunch with yesterday?" Anna wanted to make sure her sister didn't have memory loss, that would be the second worst possible thing that could happen.

Elsa thought, but she couldn't form those thoughts into words. She knew, that she ate lunch with her sister, Anna, Rapunzel, Merida, Flynn, and Hiccup. Oh! And Hans. But what she had for lunch, she was trying to remember.

Pretty soon she was being pulled out of the car, and set on a gurney, being wheeled in to the large dark building by strange people with white clothes. The last thing she saw was the blurry face of her sister, soaked with tears.

'Oh Anna,' Elsa thought. 'Please don't cry.'

Anna was horrified by the sight of her big sister, looking so vulnerable and weak. This couldn't be the end. They made a promise to always be together, always.

'Oh Elsa," Anna thought. 'Please don't die.'

* * *

**(A/N: This is sort of a lesson of what_ can_ happen if a serious concussion goes ignored or not properly treated. Elsa was laughing because she was in shock, and that masked the pain she should have felt. I may have gave Elsa a bit more serious concussion for dramatics, but in some cases with concussions that go ignored, the brain can swell to the point of serious brain damage or even death. Pretty serious.)**


	9. Chapter 9

Elsa awoke to the most annoying beeping, she attempted to hit her alarm clock, like she had scolded Anna not to so many times. She tried to hit the alarm clock again, but her arm hit nothing. She opened her eyes to realize that the beeping was not coming from her alarm clock.

It was a heart monitor.

'Wait, what?' Elsa was scared, and the beeping increased, only frightening her more.

She soon realized she was in a hospital.

Who she assumed was a doctor walked in, startling her more.

"Hello, Miss Arendelle? How are we feeling?" His deep voice could have rattled the walls.

'What do you mean 'we'?'

She tried to form the right words. "Um, thirsty." Elsa wanted to smack herself at how stupid she must have sounded. She'd always had trouble with words, but this was ridiculous.

"We'll get you something to drink." He said waving in the direction of a nurse who was standing in the doorway.

'Why does he always say 'we'?' Elsa thought.

"Can you follow my finger with your eyes please?"

She followed the direction of his finger with some difficulty. Whenever she moved her eyes quickly, her vision blurred for several seconds.

"Okay, okay." He scratched his dark beard, and wrote things down on his clipboard. Elsa was erratic. Why was she here?

This doctor preformed several more tests with Elsa, the majority of them memory tests. She told him who she was and her mother's maiden name, but she couldn't tell him what she did last night. He left before Elsa could ask anything, and the nurse brought in her drink. She grimaced at the taste. The Gatorade had to have had medicine in it.

Whatever it was, it calmed Elsa down. She could hear talking from the doctor outside the door. She only gathered small parts here and there. She heard 'small' and 'temporary' memory loss, and 'permanent vision impairment', but she couldn't gather anything else.

The door opened and the doctor walked in followed by Auntie, Rapunzel, and a shaking Anna.

Anna looked like she had seen a ghost, and she might as well had, considering how pale her sister was.

Anna let out a wail and went to hug her sister. Elsa laughed and tried to wrap her arms around her sobbing sister, but winced in pain at the realization she had an IV in her arm.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm just happy you're okay, well, kind of okay, you know what I mean." Anna sniffed, trying to control her crying. The doctor handed her a box of tissues.

"Well, Miss Arendelle, looks like you took quite a hit there."

"I'm sorry, I'm confused."

"Miss Corona, could you fill in the details for her?" He resumed writing on his clipboard.

"Um, yeah." Rapunzel scooted closer to Elsa. "Anna and I," Anna had agreed to let Rapunzel say that she had a part in it as well, to help Rapunzel feel less guilty. "We startled you when you weren't expecting it; you jumped, and your chair slipped from beneath you, and your head slammed against the table. You were laughing, so we thought you were fine. I'm so sorry. Then you went to bed, and you wouldn't wake up in the morning."

Realization began to hit Elsa. It didn't sound like her to fall or hurt herself, that was more of Anna's thing.

"Well, you were laughing due to shock, that masked the pain. Then you made the mistake of going to sleep, and your brain swelled, knocking you unconscious."

"Oh." Elsa said dumbly. "When can I leave?" She hated to make a fuss. She just wanted to go.

"Well, at the rate you are now, I'd suppose later this afternoon." He wrote a prescription and handed it to Primrose.

'I'm almost 18,' Elsa thought. 'I can get my own prescription.' She was, however, grateful she wouldn't have to stay in a hospital for much longer.

"There, that should numb any headaches you have." He unexpectedly shown a flashlight in Elsa's eyes. "I don't believe she is in any condition to go to school anytime soon, give her two days minimum, five days max." He looked at Primrose and began spouting off do's and don't's. "No sudden movement, or any otherwise straining or stressful things. She does still have the possibility of loosing consciousness, but any more than several minutes, you bring her back, okay?"

Primrose nodded, listening intently. His voice was beginning to give Elsa a headache. Her eyes flickered to Anna, who had her head on Elsa's lap. She giggled and stoked her hair, it was a tangled mess. She used her fingernails to smooth out any knots in her hair. Anna closed her eyes, loving the feeling.

Elsa began to tune the doctor out. She hated his voice. She wanted to leave. She tried to look at the clock, but found she could no longer make out the numbers. The doctor wasn't kidding when he said permanent vision impairment.

"What time is it?" Elsa asked, not really talking to anyone in particular.

Rapunzel looked at the clock. "Uh, Its almost one."

"We'll let you out at two, we promise." The doctor said sweetly.

'Literally, stop saying 'we'!' She thought angrily.

Rapunzel came and sat next to the sleeping Anna.

"Hey," She said quietly, putting her hand on Elsa's. "If you're still up for it, we can go pick out dresses for the party!" She said excitedly.

"Party?" Elsa was genuinely confused.

Realization hit Rapunzel. "Oh right! I forgot, that you... forgot." Rapunzel laughed at her own words. "You know the Andersons, Hans's family?"

Elsa nodded, she had heard of them.

"Well, they are rich, like filthy rich. And every now and again they throw extravagant parties. I just recently began to be invited to them, but my mom always had been invited. You'll love it!"

Elsa stared wide eyed, and Punzie believed she knew the reason.

"Oh don't worry, if you don't wanna go shopping you don't have to, we can pick something out-"

"It's not the shopping I'm worried about, Punz."

Realization hit Rapunzel once again. Elsa was a very quiet and reserved person, and was only ever bold when it came to her sister. Elsa would always beat around the bush. Rapunzel had seen Elsa talk to her calculus teacher. It took an hour for her to say what she wanted to say!

"Well, I can help you! This can be a good thing for you!"

Elsa appreciated the offer, she really did. But this was too far out of her comfort zone, and Elsa liked her comfort zone.

Although she wasn't necessarily happy in it.

Punzie knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Elsa," She sighed in desperation. "You can't stay in this little bubble you've made for yourself! You have to get out there, meet people!" She squeezed her hand. "Look, I know it must not be easy, but you have to trust me. How are you going to do what you want to do if you're too much of a push-over? I've seen what you can do, Elsa. And it is amazing! I know you want to be an animator, but how can you do that when you refuse to talk with people or be sociable! Let me help you!"

It was unholy how much sense Rapunzel made. She had a point. Punzie had the courage to say something that Elsa had denied for years.

Elsa looked thoughtful. "... Do I have to go dress shopping?" She smiled. Rapunzel immediately threw her arms around Elsa, disturbing the sleeping girl on her lap.

"No, of course not. I'll find a few for you. Baby steps." Elsa smiled. This would be a good thing.

She hoped.

...

Two hours later, Elsa sat on the couch, flipping aimlessly through the channels. She was huddled up in a blanket, specifically her big fluffy white comforter. She wore her favorite blue sweatpants, fluffy socks, and her father's old shirt, something she only wore when she was sick. Anna and Punzie had left to go get food, as well as her friends, Primrose had left for work after getting Elsa's prescription, and now Elsa was all alone. It wasn't that Elsa didn't like being alone.

She just hated feeling lonely.

Elsa settled on Disney Channel. Luckily, at the moment they weren't playing any of their, in her opinion, crappy sitcoms. They were playing all of Elsa's favorites, like Gravity Falls and Wander Over Yonder. She liked them because the main characters, like Mabel and Wander, reminded her of Anna.

She continually blew her hair out of her face, to her annoyance she had been forced to take her hair out of her tight bun. She finally got sick of it and out it in a ponytail, not caring about the pressure on her head.

She heard a car pull into the driveway, and immediately got up from the couch, heading for the stairs. Her head hurt from the sudden movement, but she continued up the stairs. All of her previous excitement had vanished, and she no longer desired to socialize.

It wasn't until she was in her room, safe from all the people, that she had forgot her medicine, that she was currently supposed to take. Elsa groaned, she would have to go downstairs. Elsa wondered why the universe hated her.

Or maybe, it was doing her a favor.

Elsa left her roomed and sighed at all the people in the kitchen. She slowly padded down the marble stairs, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible.

Of course, no one ever got by Anna.

"Hey!"

"Hi." Elsa said quietly. She went to the kitchen counter, where her bottle of pills lay. Her head immensely hurt, it took a lot of her strength to no falter when she walked.

Hans noticed. He felt guilty that her concussion had gone unnoticed. He had been studying any and everything medical, and there was no way someone could hit their head so hard and not have concussion.

Elsa turned to the fridge, surprised to see that Anna already had her favorite drink in her hand, orange juice with ice.

"Thanks."

"Guess you took quite a fall there, eh lass?"

"Actually, it wasn't that quite a fall, her head just sort of banged on the table." Flynn pointed out.

Everyone in returned gave him a glare, especially Hans.

"Dude." Hiccup breathed.

"What? Is that not what happened?"

Elsa rolled her eyes, causing her vision to blur. She did not like the idea of this being permanent, she could hardly see anything at all! Elsa tried her best to go back to the stairs, she really did.

"Elsa, are you sure you don't want to stay down here?" Rapunzel asked hopefully.

It was then she noticed the boxes of pizza on the counter.

"C'mon! Please?" Merida asked.

Soon many faces were staring at her hopefully, even Hans.

Elsa mumbled an agreement.

"Yay!" Anna said loudly, visibly hurting her sister's ears. "Oh oh oh! I'm sorry!" Anna hardly lowered her voice at all.

Elsa smiled. "Its alright."

"We rented a movie!" Punzie said excitedly.

Elsa looked at the cover. It was obviously a horror movie. She didn't normally have a weak stomach, unlike her sister, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. Elsa enjoyed a good horror movie, as long as it had a good plot. She hoped this one did.

"Um, Punzie?" Hiccup began. "Are you sure she should be watching this?" He referred to the blood soaked cover of the Blu Ray.

"What are you trying to say? That I have bad judgment?!" Rapunzel looked very offended, and started walking closer to Hiccup.

"N-no! I'm just saying she is recovering from a concussion, and a horror movie can be very, er-" He looked for the right word. "... stimulating."

Rapunzel fell silent, but not for long. "So now you're calling her dumb?"

Hiccup groaned. This was why he stayed quiet. People liked to twist his words around.

"I'm just teasing, Hiccup." Punzie grabbed a piece of pizza. "Learn to take a joke, gosh."

...

The gang had all sat strategically on the large couch so that Hans, Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff ended up sitting next to each other. They were pretty proud of themselves.

Elsa thought it funny that Kristoff and Anna appeared to hate each other, but continuously scooted closer to each other during the previews. Although she couldn't deny that she and Hans were considerably closer than they were when the disc was put in.

When Punzie pressed play Elsa knew that she would be scared. The first thing she saw was 'Based On True Events' in white letters against a black screen. _These _were the movies that scared Elsa, because she could never quite convince herself that it wasn't real.

As the movie progressed she found she actually wanted the ghosts/spirits/demons whatever they were to win.

'What is wrong with me?' Elsa thought. 'Maybe I shouldn't have read Flowers In The Attic when I was ten.'

Since Elsa's thoughts were drifting she didn't notice what was about to happen on screen until it was too late.

The lady on the screen was doing her make up in front of the bathroom mirror, she looked down, distracted, and the bloody little girl appeared behind her, the mirror cracked, and some unspeakable things occurred.

Elsa couldn't contain her small scream as she scooted closer to Hans, feeling safer around his tall frame. Hans attention was only half on the movie. Elsa was so interesting in so many ways. The way she'd listen intently to the movie and you could visibly see her thoughts drift and come back simultaneously. She was definitely smart, and vulnerable, but she would do anything to protect her sister, she was admirable, she was very quiet, but you could tell she had a lot to say. If he could only get her to say it.

The rest of the group looked rather pleased that Elsa and Hans as well as Kristoff and Anna were practically leaning against each other. Their attempt at a horrible horror movie cliche had somewhat worked!

The movie was over, and pretty soon people began to leave, Hiccup going first. He hugged Merida and everybody 'Awww"-ed.

"Oh, shut it, will eh?" If there was one thing she hated it was being teased.

Kristoff got a text and groaned. "Really, Sven, really? ! can't leave you alone for three hours." He mumbled.

"Wait, what?" Anna asked.

"Uh, nothing." Kristoff was not ready to get into a discussion about his illegal pet reindeer.

"Uh, I'll see ya guys." He waved to no one in particular.

"Bye." Anna said, waving back. Elsa looked at her sister. This would be a discussion they would have later.

"You ready to go?" Flynn asked.

"Yeah." Hans said, getting up from Elsa's side. "Bye guys."

"Bye." The girls responded.

Elsa missed him being at her side, even if they didn't exchange many words, she liked his company. He seemed... interesting.

Pretty soon Merida left as well, grabbing a few slices of pizza and running out the door.

Anna regained the stupid grin she had on her face from yesterday.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Anna." She said, somewhat referring to Kristoff in a way.

"What are you talking about?"

Elsa intimidated a girl in love. "Oh, bye, Kristoff."

"I don't talk like that!" Anna playfully pushed her sister. "And what about you, all draped over Hans!"

"I was not 'draped' over Hans!"

Punzie rolled her eyes at the sisters, glad they were becoming close again.

Anna soon became serious when Elsa grabbed her head. "Elsa, did you take your medicine?" She began taking her hair down. "You should go to bed."

"Y-yeah, I probably should." She yawned.

"Come on." Anna began leading the blonde up the stairs, stabilizing her.

Elsa hit her bed and began snoring. Anna tucked her in and brushed her hair out of her face, and set a glass of water and her morning medicine on her night stand. She closed the door quietly.

"Goodnight, Elsa."

* * *

**(A/N: Poor Elsa, with her permanent vision impairment. She'll live, though. Its gonna be a pretty awesome party at the Anderson's, trust me. Although Hans's brothers might be a damper on it.)**


	10. Chapter 10

Elsa's day at home was pretty uneventful. Anna and Rapunzel were at school, and Primrose was at work. She felt fine now, but Auntie insisted that she stay home one more day. She was excited because she had decided to go shopping with her cousin and sister.

_Like they would wanna go anywhere with you._

Elsa pushed out the intrusive voice, determined to not let anything damper her mood.

She looked at the clock. They wouldn't be home for two hours.

'Hmmm.' Inspiration struck Elsa and she ran for paper and pencil.

She started drawing basic shapes on the large paper, triangles and trapezoids. Soon she added smaller, more detailed shapes.

Elsa liked the outline, but she couldn't make it work. So she erased it all, but she could still faintly see the marks. Now she began to draw darker, sharper lines. She began working on details and shading.

She had to stop many times to take a break, get a drink, and clear her mind. Then, Elsa sharpened her pencil and resumed.

She must have looked so silly, spread across the living room floor, drawing on a large paper supported by a large board.

Elsa cracked her knuckles and popped her neck, it was very straining to sit in one place for a very long time.

She looked at her finished product like a proud mother. Of course, there were voices that told her negative things about it, but she attempted to ignore them.

She had drawn a Norwegian style castle, with triangular windows and large, open gates. The castle was on the forefront of a large mountain that weaved behind the castle, that cradled small village homes.

Elsa would have been lying if she said she didn't base this of off her old home, Arendelle Manor. She did however, add a few extravagant things, like the mountain, or the small village. She sighed. It was a crude sketch, but she could touch on it later. She put it in her room and figured she'd might as well change, Anna and Punz would be home in a few minutes anyways.

Elsa put her father's old shirt in a drawer, she never washed it, she always made an effort to keep it clean. Although it had been years since he gave it to her, but if she smelled hard enough, he was there.

She slipped off her give-up-on-life pants, and put jeans on. She sipped on a light blue tank top. Then she heard the car door slam. Elsa smiled, excited to go dress shopping.

Elsa was going to take Punzie's advice, and start getting out there. Rapunzel had said something that changed Elsa's outlook on a lot of things.

_"You may not have confidence, but I want you to go out there and fake it until you do!"_

She had said many other encouraging things, and Elsa was almost convinced that she'd have to take notes. Punzie seemed like a spouting fountain of knowledge and wisdom about confidence. Elsa admired that about her.

She walked down the stairs and Anna ran up and latched on to her arm, a habit Anna had that Elsa only recently noticed.

"Ready to go?" Punzie asked.

"Um, yes."

"Here's some advice, never say 'um' or 'uh' when you are sure what your answer is, that shows a sense of uncertainty or doubt."

Elsa sighed and nodded. She knew she would end up taking notes.

...

Elsa did a small twirl in the full length mirror, the aquamarine dress fanning out slightly near her feet.

The dress was floor length and long-sleeved, which Elsa adored. The only thing that she was apprehensive about was the slit that showed a considerable amount of her leg when she walked. The dress descended from a light aquamarine at the neckline to a deep ocean blue at the bottom. The dress hugged her hips slightly before flowing down straight. The dress was couture, and was no doubt pricey. It had originally came with a white belt that fastened around her hips and a sheer cape that hooked under her shoulders. Although removed, the dress looked much more practical and elegant. It had a sweetheart bodice, and the bodice was covered with a sheer material that went to her collar bones and into the sleeves. The mirror like shards on the dress of the dress shimmered with colors and the reflections around her.

She wrung her hands together nervously, looking at herself in the mirror with critical eyes. She hadn't worn a fancy dress since the days of the elegant parties her parents would throw at Arendelle Manor. This dress reminded her of the blue velvet dress her mother wore once. Elsa had that blue velvet dress, zipped up in a plastic bag in her closet, every now and again she would zip open the bag slightly, and let her hand graze the blue velvet. She remembered how her mother would do her hair, and make her and Anna look like little dolls. Elsa would play the violin for the crowds of diplomats, and sweat nervously waiting for the applause. She always hated the parties, trying to fit in among a crowd of normal, perfect people. She also missed them, like how her mother would squeeze her hand when she was uncomfortable in social situations, or how after her parents realized they had neglected the sisters the attention they so desired they would all cuddle by the fireplace, and be happy together. Even if she had been unhappy overall, she was still... happy. If that made sense.

Elsa was pulled out of her nostalgic thoughts.

"Elsa? Do you need help?" Punzie asked.

"No." She slowly walked out, slightly covering her mid drift with her hands.

Rapunzel gasped. "Oh, Elsa." She breathed. "You look gorgeous, no, more than gorgeous!"

At this moment Anna walked out of her dressing room, and Elsa thought she would cry. She looked very mature and elegant in the dress, but it had Anna's personality in it.

Anna's dress had many varying shades of green, and had mirror shards like Elsa's on the bodice, the dress was floor length, and slightly fanned out on its own, a bit like a ball gown, but not so poofy. It was sweetheart necklined, and fit Anna perfectly, it didn't hug her hips, nor did it have sleeves. It showed just the right amount of skin.

"Anna, you look beautiful." Elsa said, standing next to Anna on the pedestal in front of the large mirror.

"Thank you! You look beautifuller!" Anna said quickly, before realizing her mistake. She quickly tried to make herself seem less stupid.

"Thank you." Elsa said, laughing at Anna's antics.

Rapunzel came to stand beside Elsa in her dress. It was short, and more of a cocktail style dress, with many slightly frilly layers. It was all pinks, purples, and golds. It had a dazzling gold brooch underneath the bodice, in the shape of a sun. The girls fawned over all of each other's dresses for a while, and Elsa was surprised that she was truly enjoying herself.

"So, Anna," Rapunzel finished paying for the dresses, shoes, and earrings that they each bought. Elsa had insisted to pay at least half of her expensive dress. "Are you gonna dance with Kristoff this weekend?" Elsa was confused.

Anna blushed. "He doesn't seem like the type to dance." She said nonchalantly, waving her hand.

"Wait, what? Aren't you and Kristoff enemies or something?"

"Well," Rapunzel began. "They are on friendly enough terms, I guess. Apparently Kristoff has this illegal pet reindeer that got out, and wandered on to school property. Anna helped him get the reindeer back before people could find out. But I found out of course."

"Illegal reindeer? Anna how did you remove a reindeer from the school property?"

"Well, we sort of I guess maybe ditched school," Anna said quietly, avoiding the question. "We learned a lot about each other, okay. I don't think he's as big of a jerk as I thought. So please don't be mean to him Elsa! He really is a teddy bear!"

"You ditched school!? Anna Adeline Arendelle!" Elsa scolded.

Anna winced at the mention of her middle name. Two could play at this game.

"Elsa Elaine Arendelle!" Anna copied Elsa's scolding tone.

Elsa rolled her eyes, making her vision blur. 'Maybe its a permanent reminder that its rude to roll you eyes.' Elsa thought.

"So," Elsa began, calming down once they were in the car. "Tell me more about what you learned about Kristoff."

"Well, he's definitely strong, I mean, he threw me over that fence pretty easily."

"He threw you over a fence!?"

"It was a small fence! It was so I could get to Sven!"

"Who's Sven?!"

"The reindeer!" Anna cried, exasperated. Rapunzel could not stop laughing.

Elsa gave up.

'Well,' She thought. 'Maybe they're both crazy, that'll make a nice relationship.'

_Friday Afternoon_

Elsa raced down the stairs, desperate to get to the courtyard. As she turned a corner, she bumped into the same brick wall that knocked her down Monday, only it wasn't a brick wall, it was Hans. She blushed, apologized, and continued walking.

"Hey." He said, matching her pace so they were side by side.

"Hi."

"So, you're coming to the party this weekend?"

"Yes." She thought of what to say. "It must be exciting, throwing grand parties like that." Elsa attempted to create conversation, not her expertise.

"I suppose you'd think that, but family can be a difficult thing. I don't even live with them." He said nonchalantly.

"You don't?"

"No, I live in an apartment with Flynn. Have been since last year."

"That's nice. May I ask why?" 'Nice? Why did I say nice? What is wrong with me?'

_A lot. _A voice in her head remarked.

Hans was thrilled that she was even speaking, and that he'd been lucky enough to run into her. Literally.

"I don't really have a strong relationship with my family. I'm sort of the black sheep I guess." Hans sighed. "Trust me, my family is not all that they're cracked up to be." He smiled at her.

Hans had noticed more and more things about Elsa. Like how her harsh blue eyes only ever soften when she looks at Anna, and what it would take for her to look at him like that.

They walked in silence until they made their way to the courtyard, and sat at their table next to Rapunzel and Kristoff.

Elsa noticed that Kristoff was whispering in Anna's ear.

"I don't know... could we even find a leash that big?" Anna whispered back, barely reaching Elsa's ears.

She didn't know what they were talking about, and wasn't sure she wanted to. At least they were getting along.

"I wish you could come to the party, guys." Rapunzel said to Merida and Hiccup.

"Me too, but I cannot miss another archery tournament! Thanks again, Hiccup, for deciding to come with me."

Hiccup smiled in acknowledgement.

"Psst, Hans." Rapunzel changed her tone. "Are, y'know, _they _invited?" She nodded her head in the direction of the table where Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, and Aurora sat.

Hans looked at Rapunzel. "You know they are. Our parents are business partners, you know. Just ignore them. They don't start anything unless you make them mad."

"Hans, my mere _presence_ angers them. They aren't too happy with Anna and Elsa, either."

Elsa didn't know how somebody could ruin her life by just being snobs. Sure, Cindy changed those girls, but Elsa was not a person who was easily manipulated. Anna, on the other hand, people knew not to mess with her, not out of fear for her, but fear of what her big sister would do.

"I'm sure they wouldn't do anything at the party, not while their parents are there to see the perfect little angels they are." Hans said, albeit bitterly. Cindy and her gang reminded him of his brothers, they looked like perfect angels in the spotlight, but showed there true colors when alone.

'Why would anybody try to ruin someone else's life, just for fun?' Elsa didn't understand some people. Then again, there were few people who understood her.

_A few hours later_

Cindy sat in front of her vanity, carefully covering the dark circles under her eyes with concealer. Looking satisfied with her work, she walked to her bed, to help Belle cover the bruise on her jaw. She gently brushed the makeup sponge on Belle's pale jaw, tying not to hurt her.

"I guess Adam was a little rough, huh?" Belle laughed.

"Such a beast," Cindy muttered. "But, this will be good for you in the long run. I promise."

Aurora walked in, Ariel in tow.

"Do I have to wear the extensions?" Aurora said quietly, holding a mess of blonde hair in her hands.

"Yes! Of course," Cindy came over to help her put the extensions in her sandy blonde hair. "You have horrible split ends. This is the first big party of the year, guys, we have to impress. I won't be the one to inherit my step mom's money, so if you want to continue living like this you have to deal with it." She yanked slightly on Aurora's hair to emphasize her point.

Ariel stayed quiet, blow drying her freshly dyed blood-red hair. She thought there were more important things than money, like happiness, or music.

But she had given up her values long ago for this lifestyle.

...

Elsa concentrated as she finished her liquid eyeliner, something her mother had made sure Elsa perfected long ago. She finished her look with red lipstick, something that Rapunzel had convinced her to wear. She grimaced at her pale face. A week in California and she hadn't tanned one bit. But her complexion complimented the red lipstick well.

Anna came bouncing into her room, holding her dress up to her chest.

"A little help here?" Anna referred to the back of her unzipped gown.

Elsa laughed and zipped up the dress. Anna handed her a gold comb with green ribbons attached to it.

"How should I do my hair? I want something different." She asked, sitting in Elsa's vanity chair.

Elsa looked thoughtful, and inspiration struck. She took Anna's hair, and made a braid that twisted like a headband on her head, and pulled her bangs through it. She then twisted the back into a bun, and stuck the comb in the back of her hair. A few bobby pins later, Anna's hair could have been a masterpiece.

"Whoa, Elsa. Thanks!" Elsa smiled.

"I just don't know what to do with _my_ hair." She said, taking Anna's spot in the chair.

"Well, I'm getting sick of this bun in your hair." She took Elsa's bun down, surprised at how long her hair really was. "How long have you had it in that bun?" Anna breathed. She thought of what to do with the abundance of hair. If there was one thing Anna was good at, it was braiding. She began french braiding it, sweeping her bangs back to the side so they slightly fell over her right eye. She pulled the braid over Elsa's shoulder and clipped several small diamond pins throughout the braid.

"Oh, Anna." Elsa loved it, Anna had made something so simple, so beautiful. Why was she getting emotional? It was just a braid.

Rapunzel bounced in much like Anna had, smiling excitedly.

"Okay, guys. You can't walk in there without an escort, well, I mean, you can, but its better if you do. Any who... Anna, Kristoff will escort you, and Elsa, Hans will escort you. Okay? Okay. Good."

Elsa's stomach twisted at the mention of Hans. Was she nervous or excited? She couldn't tell.

Anna's heart fluttered at the mention of Kristoff. She had no idea he was even coming, and now she'd have someone to talk to besides her sister.

A car door slammed.

"Oh! They're here!" Rapunzel left and raced down the stairs in her heelsexpertly, she knew these stairs from the time she was a toddler.

Anna and Elsa followed her. Anna went a bit more slow, trying not to fall in her gold heels.

"Punzie!" Primrose stopped Rapunzel before she ran out the door. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Primrose motioned to Thomas.

"Dad! You're back!" Rapunzel threw herself into her dad's arms.

"Have been for about an hour now." Thomas laughed, admiring how grown up his little girl looked.

Flynn entered just in time to see the touching moment. Kristoff and Hans entered, unnoticed by the group.

"Aww." The guys all simultaneously said. The girls turned around. Jaws dropped.

Flynn smiled, not believing he was so lucky to have this beautiful ray of sunshine in his life. Kristoff was surprised at how elegant this crazy, clumsy, wonderful girl that had been thrown in his life looked. Anna smiled when she saw him, no one had ever really done that, and his heart fluttered. Hans was surprised, he didn't see that small, quiet, scared girl he did earlier. She looked so much more confident, she looked beautiful. Her slightly shy smile that always captivated him was still the same.

Rapunzel immediately went to hug Flynn.

"You look so handsome!" Rapunzel was very excited to see him in a suit.

Flynn laughed before getting deadly serious. "Thanks. But don't expect me to do it again." He tried to look as uncaring as possible but couldn't help but look at his Punzie with what could only be described as love.

"Well, well, well. Aren't we looking dapper!" Anna walked up to Kristoff, who was obviously uncomfortable in his suit. Anna tried to saunter, but ended up nearly falling. Kristoff quickly caught her and restrained himself from making a comment.

Hans knew that Elsa wouldn't be so bold as to walk up to him, so he walked to her.

"Hi." She said, smiling, brushing her bangs from her face.

"You look lovely." He offered his arm, and she took it, the smile not leaving her face.

"Thank you." They followed the others to Hans's car.

"Flynn and I will take my car." Rapunzel announced, waving to Anna and Elsa.

Elsa and Anna had to climb a tad bit to gt into Hans's rather large, black SUV. Then they were on their way.

"Something I should say about my family," Hans began. "They will definitely want to meet my friends, and please just... be wary of them. My brothers are not the kindest people, and my parents are very critical."

Anna and Kristoff didn't seem to be listening.

"How did Sven get out this time? Oh! I found a reindeer leash on Ebay." Anna pulled out her phone to show Kristoff.

"Who's Sven?" Hans looked at Elsa for an explanation. She shrugged her shoulders.

...

Cindy walked into the grand mansion, Ariel, Belle, and Aurora by her side. Belle had her arm cradled by Adam's, and Aurora by Phillip's.

"Okay, Ariel. I told you who the brothers are. If you find any of them, flirt your way through it okay? This is important. Remember I'll be doing the same thing. I didn't dump Channing for nothing. Got it?"

Ariel nodded. Her eyes flickered to Eric, laughing with his friends. Sadness swelled within her. Was it all really worth it? She remembered the offer from Mr. and Mrs. Anderson.

_We would be delighted if you would sing for us at the party, we've heard you have quite the voice._

But Cindy had upright refused. Ariel wasn't allowed to sing anymore. It wasn't 'practical' or 'useful'. Whatever that had meant.

...

Hans had known the best way to enter the mansion. That was from the back, so that they could avoid the crowds of people and descend the staircase, where they would meet Punzie and Flynn.

Kristoff held tightly to Anna as they walked down the staircase, the last thing he wanted was for her to fall.

Elsa took deep breaths. This party was no doubt grand and beautiful, but the music was very loud. It just recently occurred to her that eyes would be on her most definitely, considering she was on the arm of one of the Anderson brothers. She squeezed Hans's arm just a bit tighter. He looked at her reassuringly.

"Hans, darling!" His mother immediately approached him as he reached the bottom of the staircase, followed by Kristoff and Anna. Rapunzel and Eugene ran up beside them. "These must be your friends! Its nice to meet all of you," Her eyes landed on Elsa, who's arm was linked with Hans's. "And this is?"

"Elsa." Hans answered.

"Elsa," She breathed. "She's lovely, Hans. Its nice to meet you, Elsa. I'm Anneke."

Elsa smiled and nodded. Hans's mother was very beautiful. She had light, auburn hair, and soft green eyes. She seemed friendly enough, not critical at all. But looks can be deceiving.

"This is Anna, Kristoff, Flynn, and Rapunzel." Hans finished introducing them. They all smiled and said their 'hi's' and 'hello's'. When Anneke left, Anna and Kristoff headed straight for the food, laughing along the way. Punzie and Eugene went to dance, leaving Elsa and Hans at the staircase. They unlinked their arms, and began to talk about small things, becoming comfortable with each other. Hans noticed that the loud music was hurting Elsa's ears, and got an idea.

"Follow me."

Elsa agreed, and followed Hans up the staircase, and around several hallways. He obviously knew his way around this insanely large mansion. He led her in front of a large door, opened it, and ushered her inside.

Elsa saw a large room, filled with instruments of every kind, the crown jewel being a grand piano in the corner. There were large windows, which illuminated the room with moonlight, and showed a view of the lake behind the mansion. When Hans closed the door behind him, all of the loud music disappeared. The room was sound proof! Something stirred inside Elsa that she'd never felt before. Hans had noticed that she was sensitive to the music, and was sweet enough to take her away from it. She was at a loss for words, it was a small thing, but it was the small things that made her emotional.

"Don't you miss the party?" Elsa asked.

"Do you?" Hans quirked an eyebrow.

Elsa laughed. "Hardly." Her hands grazed the piano.

"Do you play?" Hans sat down at the piano.

"A little." Elsa admitted. "Mainly violin."

Hans walked to a corner of the room, and picked up a white violin, and handed it to Elsa.

"Play something for me."

"A-alright." Elsa hadn't played in months, the violin felt unfamiliar in her hands. She got in the basic position, and started slowly, before starting a sequence. It slowly became faster and more complicated. Hans recognized what she was playing and started playing the piano version in sync with her's.

...

Cindy's blood boiled at the sight of Elsa and Hans, they had entered with their arms linked, chatted, and then he whisked her up the stairs and around the hallway. Cindy was never shy, she was always bold. She always said what she needed to say. No matter if it hurt someone's feelings. Maybe f someone had told Cindy that her father was going to leave her alone with a cruel family, perhaps she wouldn't have been so surprised and dumbfounded when reality hit her.

'Probably going up there to fuck.' Cindy thought bitterly, even though she knew that Elsa and Hans probably weren't, Elsa was definitely not that kind of person, and wasn't manipulated easily.

Cindy could easily start rumors that Elsa was a slut or something like that, but that was against her policy. She was not for slut-shaming at all. She didn't think of 'slut' as an insult, either. Whenever people called Cindy a slut, she laughed.

_"So, what, I'm a slut? So I have a lot of sex? Okay. Keep it coming. What else? Do I dress well?"_

Cindy wish she could have gotten Elsa on her side, but all hope for that was lost.

Cindy was startled by a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see who must have been one of the Anderson brothers. That famous, sharp, straight nose and piercing green eyes. Cindy smiled as he asked her to dance. This night might not be a disaster after all.

...

Anna and Kristoff sat at one of the tables, having small talk and making fun of some stuck-up rich people. She had tried to grab a glass of champagne but Kristoff immediately stopped her.

"Trust me, I'm doing you a favor, the last thing someone like you needs is alcohol." He took it from her hands, taking a sip himself.

"What do you mean 'someone like me'!" Anna asked, offended. "I'm completely ordinary!"

"Yeah, okay." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

They continued to bicker and talk, and Kristoff would scare away anyone who would try to ask Anna to dance. Anna was enjoying herself, but wished she knew what Elsa was doing.

...

Hans finished the last note, and Elsa the last chord.

"That was amazing." Hans complimented.

"You too." Elsa went to sit by him at the piano bench.

Their sweet moment was interrupted by the sound of Han's phone. he looked at the text message and groaned.

"Its my mother. Do you mind if I go find her?" He hated to leave her. "You're more than welcome to stay in here.

"No! Not at all. Go ahead. I'll go find Anna."

He smiled and left, turning a few more hallways.

Elsa left the comfort of the music room and into the noise of the party. Elsa walked down the hallway to where the staircase was located. At least it was quieter in the hallway. Wait, what was that? Did Elsa hear... crying? She walked towards the sound at the opposite end of the hallway.

The source of the noise was a small red and blue bundle, a girl crying into her knees.

"Hey." Elsa got down on her knees. "Are you alright?"

The girl looked up, startled. Elsa took a sharp intake of breath. It was one of the 'princesses' Punzie had warned her about, Ariel. She sniffed and straightened herself, standing up.

"Y-yes, I'm fine." She had a faint Australian accent, and her voice was cracking.

"You don't look fine." Elsa hated to intrude, but not as much as she hated people crying.

"I'm just, sick of a lot of things." She said. Her lip quivered and she let out a wail, going to hug Elsa.

Elsa was surprised but supported her tall frame nonetheless. She led her to what she assumed was a bathroom, opened the door, and was thankful she was right.

"Here, now." Elsa gave her tissues. Ariel wiped her tears and blew her nose. Elsa pushed her red hair out of her face.

"Thank you." Ariel calmed down, taking deep breaths. "I'm just, so sick of Cindy. I just want to be myself, y'know?"

Elsa nodded, listening intently. Ariel was glad someone was willing to listen.

"I just want to sing." She said quietly.

"Well, why don't you?" Elsa fixed some of her running makeup.

"Because I can't get away from Cindy! Its like a trap, if I do, she'll ruin my life!" More tears began to well.

"Shh, shh. Its okay." Elsa began stroking her hair, trying to comfort her. "No one is going to ruin your life."

Ariel blew her nose again, calming herself. "Thanks. But, if I leave her, I have no where else to go, I'm due to stay in California for another year." She stopped crying, and just looked defeated.

Elsa wrung her hands together nervously. "Follow me."

...

"I'm sorry?" Rapunzel looked more than confused.

"Punzie, look at her." Elsa gestured to Ariel, who was sitting at a table a few feet away, staring at her hands. "Can you let her stay with us? Once she ditches Cindy, she'll have no where do go."

Rapunzel stared at Ariel, who looked so depressed. She had been so happy and nice the first day she met her. They had almost became friends, and then Cindy got a hold of her.

"I'll call my mom," Rapunzel began. "I know we have the room." Elsa smiled broadly.

...

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you, Elsa! Rapunzel!" Ariel tackled the girls in hugs. "This means so much!"

"Your welcome." Rapunzel said, patting Ariel's back.

Ariel felt so good. Like she was free, only there was one problem.

She hadn't technically ditched Cindy yet.

Ariel pulled out her phone, typed for a bit, and took a sharp intake of breath before pressing send.

Elsa led Ariel to the large snack table.

"Sushi?" Elsa offered.

"Oh no no no. I'm severely allergic to seafood."

...

Cindy sat at her table, watching the couples dance. the brother she had danced with was a sexist pig. Cindy didn't deal with people like that, no matter how much money they had.

She was jealous. Of course Elsa had ended up with the only gentleman in the rich family. Cindy's phone beeped, and she perked up. Maybe Ariel was having better luck. She was so wrong.

_Cindy_

_I appreciate that you took me in when I didn't have anywhere else to go, I truly do, but I am done. Done with you, done with everything. I've found somewhere else to stay, so I'm fine, not that you care. Find someone else to do your bidding. Do me a favor and stay out of my life._

Cindy reread it, over and over. The words never changed. At first she felt remorse that she had pushed Ariel too far, and then anger. She gave her everything! She made her popular! She made her pretty!

'I don't need her.' Cindy thought angrily. 'I do need a martini though.'

...

Hans left the grand bedroom, walking briskly. He had just gotten into a large argument with his parents and oldest brother. They had all said things they didn't mean, but nonetheless Hans wanted to leave.

But he didn't want to ruin anyone else's fun, so he could endure the rest of the party.

He quickly caught sight of the gang and who he assumed was Ariel at a table.

He sat down beside Elsa, and she explained Ariel's situation. Ariel soon got emotional again, and leaned into Elsa, who in return comforted her.

Hans thought it to be sweet, how Elsa was always trying to comfort people.

The clock struck 12, and the party began to die down. All of the diplomats were gone, and all that were left were the teenagers.

Rapunzel stood up and yawned.

"Well, I think I'm going to get going. Ariel? Do wanna ride with me?"

"I'll ride with Elsa, if that's alright?"

Elsa nodded.

"But, before Cindy leaves, I wanna get my stuff. Can you guys drop me off? I'll be super quick!"

Hans nodded. "Of course. Are you ready now?"

Everyone nodded and left the table, more than ready to go home after a long night.

...

Ariel slipped into Cindy's massive house, not quite a mansion, but s very, _very_ large house. All the lights were out, so she figured Cindy's step family was asleep. She grabbed her few bags, and slipped out quickly, leaving her key behind and locking the door behind her.

She slipped into the back seat with Kristoff and Anna, happy that she was away from Cindy, and happy she had made new friends.

Hans dropped them off, and Flynn joined him in the SUV.

Hans waved at Elsa. She waved back smiling.

"Thank you, Hans." He smiled in acknowledgement, before driving off.

* * *

(A/N: Sorry for those who are confused, I dropped the murder mystery thing, there was just no way I could work with it. I would love any suggestions on where to take Kristoff/Anna or Hans/Elsa relationships :) Thanks for reviewing!)


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